One of the strongest types brewed in London, the quantities made were quite modest. In 1890, Whitbread brewed just 6,000 barrels of KKK out of a total of 381,000 barrels. Of which 210,000 barrels was X Ale. Which is what most Londoners were drinking.
These beers are pretty much beefed-up versions of KK. Sometimes, like at Whitbread, being parti-gyled with KK. When brewed single-gyle, the hopping was often heavier in KKK.
Like KK and X Ale, KKK began down the path of darkness in the final decades of the 19th century. Who really knows why they became darker?
Though of a lower gravity, beers of the type continued to be brewed after WW I. Fullers Old Burton Extra being a good example.
Let’s take a look at some real examples.
As you can see in the table, the gravity averages about 14º higher than the weaker type of Burton Ale. And about 0.75º ABV stronger, at 8% ABV. There isn’t a huge variation across the three beers, with all being around 1090º.
The final gravities do vary more, ranging from 1025º to 1033º. Though these should be taken with a pinch of salt, as these are the gravities at the end of primary fermentation. After a long secondary Brettanomyces fermentation the true final gravity would have been much lower. And hence the degree of attenuation considerably higher.
The hopping rate, unsurprisingly, is very high. Averaging 14 lbs per quarter (336 lbs) of malt. About 2lbs per quarter more than the standard-strength Burtons. It’s even higher than the rate for London Stock Pale Ales, which is 13 lbs per quarter.
As with the standard beers, the Truman examples were brewed in Burton rather than London. However, as they were specifically for sale in the capital, I think they belong here.
| London Strong Burton Ale 1880 - 1899 | ||||||||
| Year | Brewer | Beer | OG | FG | ABV | App. Atten-uation | lbs hops/ qtr | hops lb/brl |
| 1881 | Whitbread | KKK | 1089.2 | 1032.7 | 7.48 | 63.35% | 14.13 | 5.84 |
| 1891 | Whitbread | KKK | 1087.3 | 1033.0 | 7.18 | 62.18% | 14.07 | 5.70 |
| 1886 | Barclay Perkins | KKK | 1088.0 | 1024.9 | 8.34 | 71.67% | 17.64 | 6.62 |
| 1887 | Truman (Burton) | S3 | 1092.8 | 1027.7 | 8.61 | 70.15% | 11.33 | 5.00 |
| 1897 | Truman (Burton) | CS 3 | 1090.6 | 1027.7 | 8.32 | 69.42% | 12.79 | 5.00 |
| Average | 1089.6 | 1029.2 | 7.99 | 67.35% | 13.99 | 5.63 | ||
| Sources: | ||||||||
| Whitbread brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers LMA/4453/D/01/047 and LMA/4453/D/01/057. | ||||||||
| Barclay Perkins brewing record held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document number ACC/2305/1/583. | ||||||||
| Truman brewing records held at the London Metropolitan Archives, document numbers B/THB/BUR/11 and B/THB/C/327. | ||||||||
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